Suidae Pigs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pigs vary tremendously in size, from some subspecies of the wildboar (see below) weighing up to 320 kg, and the African giant forest hog (see at bottom of this page) weighing up to 275 kg, to the Indian pygmy hog (Porcula salvania), which weighs only 6-10 kg.

Pigs are social and very intelligent animals, often roaming around in large flocks, called sounders. The fur of most species is rough and rather scanty. They are cloven-hoofed animals with two long and two short toes on each foot. The eyes are relatively small, and their eyesight is not very good. To compensate, their hearing and sense of smell are excellent. Their snout is very characteristic, at the end having a flat and naked disc, consisting of hard cartilage, which makes it suitable for rooting in soil when searching for food. During the digging, the nostrils are closed. Deer pigs (Babyrousa) has no cartilage disc at the end of the snout, and they do not root much in the ground.

A male pig is called a boar, a castrated male a barrow. A young female pig is a gilt, whereas a female that has had young is a sow. Very young pigs are called piglets, whereas immature pigs are called shoats.

Boars of many species have elongated canines, called tusks. The upper tusks are longer than the lower ones, which sit in front of the upper ones, the lower ones being kept razor-sharp by constantly being rubbed against the upper ones. They are used for defense, fighting for dominance, and digging for food. The upper tusks of wildboar and giant forest hog may sometimes reach a length of 40 cm. Sows have much shorter tusks than boars. All four canines of deer pigs are very long and backcurved, the upper ones growing up through the skin of the snout.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today, the domestic pig is found almost worldwide, with feral populations in the Americas, New Guinea, and Australia (see more about this issue below at Sus scrofa ssp. domesticus).

The generic name is the classical Latin word for hog.

 

 

(…) It was now Tom’s turn to shoot, and to shoot in a hurry, for the pigs were fast approaching the tree jungle, and getting out of range. Standing four-square, Tom raised his rifle, and as the two shots rang out, the pigs, both shot through the head, went over like rabbits.

Kunwar Singh’s recital of this event invariably ended up with: “And then I turned to Budhoo, that city-bred son of a low-caste man, the smell of whose oiled hair offended me, and said, ‘Did you see that, you, who boasted that your sahib would teach mine how to shoot? Had my sahib wanted to blacken the face of yours he would not have used two bullets, but would have killed both pigs with one’.”

Just how this feat could have been accomplished, Kunwar Singh never told me, and I never asked, for my faith in my hero was so great that I never for one moment doubted that, if he had wished, he could have killed both pigs with one bullet.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

The subspecies vary considerably in size, the largest being the Korean wildboar, subspecies coreanus, which may weigh up to 320 kg, the smallest being the Komodo wildboar, subspecies vittatus, which may weigh as little as 50 kg.

Wildboar are preyed upon by many different carnivores. The principal one in the major distribution area is the wolf (Canis lupus), in southern and eastern Asia tiger (Panthera tigris) and leopard (Panthera pardus). On Komodo and surrounding islands, the main predator is the Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis). My encounter with this fearsome animal is described on the page Travel episodes – Indonesia 1985: Difficult journey to Komodo.

As the wildboar mainly is active at night, its presence is most often ascertained by its diggings (see pictures below).

The specific name stems from Proto-Indo-European skreb (‘to scrape’), but in classical Latin it became the term for a sow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other pictures from this amazing area are shown on several pages on this website, including Religion: Hinduism, Animals – Animals in culture and religion: Elephantidae, and Plants: Ancient and huge trees.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Archaeological evidence suggests that domestication of the wildboar took place as early as around 13000 B.C. in Mesopotamia, with a separate domestication taking place in China about 6000 B.C. As the wildboar has an omnivorous diet, this domestication process was rather easy.

Genetic studies indicate that the first domestic pigs were brought to Europe from the Middle East. People soon began domesticating the local European wildboar, causing the genes from the Middle East animals to die out in the European pigs. Later, European animals were brought back to the Middle East, and during the 18th and 19th Centuries, Asian pigs were introduced to Europe. Thus, modern pigs have very complex genes.

When Europeans migrated to the Americas, Australia, New Zealand, and elsewhere, they, naturally, brought pigs along. Descendants of these pigs have become feral in many parts of the world, including North and South America, New Zealand, northern Australia, and parts of Europe, often causing considerable damage to the environment.

The world population of domestic pigs is around 1 billion, making it as numerous as sheep and goats.

The gestation period is 112-120 days. Sows are loving mothers, nursing their piglets about every hour.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In Europe, and elsewhere, free-running pigs are a rather recent, but increasing trend, as a growing number of consumers demand products from animals, which have not been kept under cruel conditions.

Pigs love to wallow in mud, which leaves their skin covered in a layer of mud, preventing bothersome insects from stinging.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some scientists regard these pigs as a wild subspecies, andamanensis, of the wildboar. To me, however, it seems much more likely that it was introduced by the original Negrito inhabitants of these islands, as it resembles the pot-bellied pig of Southeast Asia far more than it does the true wildboar. Some of these introduced pigs probably escaped to form wild populations. In his book The Way of the Animal Powers – Historical Atlas of World Mythology (1983), American author Joseph Campbell (1904-1987) is of the same opinion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In many places in Asia, so-called pig-toilets are still in use in rural areas. It simply consists of an outhouse, built over a pig sty. The faeces fall down into the sty, where the pigs consume them – an eco-friendly and economical way of getting rid of human waste.

A new trend is pigs as pets, usually dwarf forms.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now one of the shamans thrusted a sharpened bamboo stick deep into the lungs of the pig, twisting it several times. The pig screamed horribly for a couple of minutes, and then died of suffocation. Its screams were a signal to the spirit that the offering was meant for him, and he would leave the body of the sick person.

My stay with the Ifugao is described in depth on the page Travel episodes – Philippines 1984: Shamanism among Ifugao tribals.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In this novel, the animals, led by the clever pigs, usurp the wicked farm owner, Mr. Jones, declaring that “all animals are equal.” Later, “a large, rather fierce-looking Berkshire boar”, named Napoleon, assumes power on the farm and kills his rival Snowball, using dogs he himself has trained. He now declares that “all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others,” turning into a replica of Mr. Jones, just much worse. In the end, he even fraternizes with humans, keeping the other animals as slaves. As they peep through the windows, “the creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.”

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek phakos (‘wart’) and khoiros (‘pig’), like the common name referring to the prominent facial warts of these pigs, largest in boars.

 

From a distance, the warthog appears largely naked, seemingly only with a crest along the back, and tufts of hair on the cheeks and tail. At close quarters, however, you notice a sparce cover of short, bristly hairs on the body.

Warthogs are omnivorous, eating grass, roots, bulbs, rhizomes, berries and other fruits, bark, fungi, insects, eggs, and carrion. They are powerful diggers, using both snout and feet. When feeding, they often bend their front feet backwards and move about on the wrists.

Warthogs are social animals. When running in tall grass, they often stick their tail up like flags, especially in case of danger, the front animal in this way informing other members of the flock about its whereabouts.

In several places, the ivory of the tusks is carved into figures and sold to tourists.

Warthogs have been introduced to farms in the United States, and escaped individuals have formed a small feral population in Texas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One morning, Warthog left his burrow, and wandered off in search of food, with his tail proudly sticking up. He passed Porcupine, who had been up all night searching for food. As a result he was very tired and wanted to go to sleep, but he still had a long way to go before reaching his home. Then he got an idea. Why not have a nap in Warthog’s burrow before he would return? So Porcupine went down the burrow and promptly fell asleep.

In the meantime, Warthog had been wallowing in mud, and then he found some nice grass to feed on. Lion was lying under a nearby tree, and Warthog couldn’t resist showing off how handsome he was, all covered in mud. Lion was in a particularly bad mood this morning, and having the Warthog parade around him was just too much to bear. With a great roar he charged Warthog.

Warthog, realizing that he had pushed Lion too far, panicked and ran as fast as he could back towards his burrow, with the angry Lion in close pursuit. Warthog ran headfirst into his burrow, knowing that Lion could not follow him there. Lion stopped outside the burrow entrance and roared angrily.

Porcupine, who was sleeping soundly, awoke with a start. Thinking that he was being attacked, he stood up and spread his quills, ready to fend off any enemy. Warthog ran so fast into his burrow that he was unable to slow down, so he ran straight into Porcupine and cried out in pain, when a lot of quills got stuck in his face and snout. Hastily, he backed out of his burrow again.

Lion, seeing Warthog coming out with his face full of quills, laughed gleefully.

“Serves you right,” he said. “That will teach you not to be so vain.”

When the other animals heard what had happened to Warthog, they all came to laugh at him, and none of them would help to pull out the quills.

Poor Warthog’s face swelled up, and he was not at all handsome anymore, and to this day he is still ugly, and he always enters his burrow backwards – just in case.

 

 

 

 

 

One day, as he looked out from the entrance, he saw to his horror that Lion was approaching. He backed away, but because he had made the entrance to his place so grand, Lion would have no difficulty in following him in.

“Ahhhh!” thought Warthog, “Lion will eat me in my own home! What can I do?”

Then he remembered a trick he had heard Jackal talking about. He pretended to be supporting the roof of his burrow with his strong back, pushing up with his tusks.

“Help!” he cried to Lion, “I am going to be crushed! The roof is caving in! Flee, mighty Lion, before you are crushed along with me!”

But Lion was not stupid. He at once recognized Jackal’s old trick and was not going to be fooled again. He roared so fiercely that Warthog dropped to his knees, trembling and begging for mercy.

Luckily, Lion was not very hungry, so he pardoned Warthog and left, saying, “Stay on your knees, you fool!”

And that is why Warthog is kneeling.

 

 

 

 

 

On average, it is the largest living pig species, males of the eastern subspecies measuring up to 2.1 m from snout to rump, with an additional tail length of up to 45 cm, standing up to 1.1 m in height at the shoulder, and weighing up to 275 kg. The western subspecies is much smaller, males weighing up to 150 kg. Females are smaller than males. Its body is covered in long, blackish hairs, sometimes with an orange tinge.

According to a local belief in parts of the Congo, consuming giant forest hog meat is regarded as bringing misfortune. Formerly, their thick and tough skin was much valued by the Ndorobo and Luhya peoples of western Kenya, who preferred it over buffalo hide for making shields due to its superior strength and durability.

The specific name honours British soldier, intelligence officer, and ornithologist Richard Meinertzhagen (1878-1967), who shot the type specimen in Kenya in 1904 and had it shipped to the Natural History Museum in England. In older biographies, Meinertzhagen was depicted as a master of military strategy and espionage, but in later works, including The Meinertzhagen Mystery: The Life and Legend of a Colossal Fraud, written by American historian and author Brian Garfield (1939-2018), he is presented as a fraud, fabricating stories of his fabulous feats. He may even have murdered his wife, and it has turned out that he was responsible for mass killings while in the colonial service. When it comes to ornithology, he was also a fraud, who stole museum specimens and later claimed that they were first records for Britain. This fact has raised serious doubts on the truthfulness of many of his ornithological records.